# Veep announcement \[Romney picks Paul Ryan\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 11, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157 "2012-08-11T03:40:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/141 "2012-08-11T20:24:28Z")
I guess its good for the GOP that the worst thing they have on Ryan so far is the climate change thing. You think by now they would have found a DUI, a racist remark, or a jilted lover. I’ll bet every time in his life that Paul Ryan didn’t ask to be excused from the dinner table is being analyzed from six different angles to see if it might be used against him. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/142 "2012-08-11T20:34:28Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > He was discredited, he was not the father of this, and he is a loon. > > [RealClimate: James Lovelock’s Gloomy Vision](http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2006/02/james-lovelocks-gloomy-vision/) > > As for the unknowns, lets see a Republican that is an expert on the matter to explain it: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a69\_owv4jEE&feature=relmfu](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a69_owv4jEE&feature=relmfu) Too funny. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/143 "2012-08-11T20:37:47Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I guess its good for the GOP that the worst thing they have on Ryan so far is the climate change thing. You think by now they would have found a DUI, a racist remark, or a jilted lover. I’ll bet every time in his life that Paul Ryan didn’t ask to be excused from the dinner table is being analyzed from six different angles to see if it might be used against him. Nope, I’m just starting, to see who is really using scripture (but it seems that it is from a very peculiar new testament) Paul Ryan revealed one of the main reasons why he opposes health care law, you see, god told him that it was the right thing to do. [http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/01/paul-ryan-repeal-health-law-because-rights-come-from-god/](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/01/paul-ryan-repeal-health-law-because-rights-come-from-god/) > [@](#): > > But Ryan rejected Kennedy’s assertion and promised to completely undo the law. > > “We’re going to repeal the entire law and then we’re going to advance patient-centered reforms that address these kinds of issues,” the Wisconsin Republican said. > “I think this at the end of the day is a big philosophy difference,” he continued. > > “What Ms. Kennedy and others were saying is that this is a new government-granted right. We disagree with the notion that our rights come from government, that the government can now grant us and define our rights. Those are ours, they come from nature and God, according to the Declaration of Independence — a huge difference in philosophy.” ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/144 "2012-08-11T20:38:26Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I guess its good for the GOP that the worst thing they have on Ryan so far is the climate change thing. You think by now they would have found a DUI, a racist remark, or a jilted lover. I’ll bet every time in his life that Paul Ryan didn’t ask to be excused from the dinner table is being analyzed from six different angles to see if it might be used against him. Other than wanting to destroy Medicare, give huge tax cuts to the wealthy, ramp up defense spending, and gutting every other federal program. Romney can no longer frame this as a referendum on Obama- it’s now a choice election. Does the public want radical right wingers to have full control of the government? No way in hell. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/145 "2012-08-11T20:38:35Z")
Elizabeth Warren’s already [running against](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151027972828687&set=a.414227908686.199860.38471053686&type=1&theater) the Ryan choice. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/146 "2012-08-11T20:39:53Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Too funny. Just personal jabs with no reply dealing with what the scientists say; once again, Ryan and many Republicans do have even more extreme ideas. And they ignore even what conservative scientists are telling them. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/147 "2012-08-11T20:47:36Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Novel idea, but it probably has more to do with the fact that he wasn’t Bush. And he’s half Black. This idea came up a lot before the 2008 election (where both candidates were Senators so one winning was guaranteed.) Obama was criticized for not starting any big initiatives in the Senate - this maybe was deliberate. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/148 "2012-08-11T20:49:14Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Nope. You’re assuming a greater degree of true knowledge than exists. Not only do I think global warming exists and that man contributes to it, I probably agree with most of the steps that should be taken. And that makes you better than Paul Ryan. Let’s be perfectly clear here. Paul Ryan isn’t proposing what you are. He’s not saying “we don’t know quite enough”. Every indication we have shows that he’s pushing very hard for the “there is no AGW” angle. And _that is not okay_. > [@](#): > > That doesn’t translate that there are not unknowns. You want to compare it to gravity? Okay, I’ll tell you what, when any scientists who study climate change can predict things with the same degree of certainty of a schoolboy predicting that a ball he throws up into the air will return to earth, you let me know and I’ll join the Church of Gigo. Until then, repeat after me, “But I may be wrong.” Do you not understand why this is so dishonest? > [@](#): > > When the father of global warming things that the scientists are turning into religionists, that should give you pause. Oh wait, let’s just discredit him and say he’s a loon. Next! Link? ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/149 "2012-08-11T20:49:42Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Paul Ryan revealed one of the main reasons why he opposes health care law, you see, god told him that it was the right thing to do. That’s not what he said. He was talking about the concept of natural law; that rights don’t come from government but from nature or from God. It’s in the Declaration of Independence. It’s hardly radical. It’s not even religious because many atheists agree with the concept that some rights are simply inherent and that any government that opposes them are evil. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/150 "2012-08-11T20:50:40Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > To comment again on the subject of the thread (I’ll leave the global warming alarmist/evangelical debate for another thread if anyone would like to continue it), I’m torn about Ryan. I like him. I think he’s a smart guy. And I think choosing him sends a clear signal that Romney is going for substance. It says that he views the economy and fiscal matters as the things of paramount importance. And that is good and refreshing. And I think a lot of libertarian-leaning Independents will like that quite a lot I agree with this. This country has hard choices to make regarding entitlements, if we are to avoid becoming another Greece. Enough of the imbecilic “strategies” from both sides (from the Right: “Let’s cut waste!”; from the Left: “Let’s tax the rich!”) that are painless (to most voters) and ineffective on their own. To say the least. Someone needs to sell the hard facts to the American public, that we need to make major changes, and some things will not be the same as before. But I’m afraid this is not the ticket that can pull it off. It’s easier to run on those popular things that will end up driving us off the cliff. That seems to be how people vote. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/151 "2012-08-11T20:50:58Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > This, however, is easy to spin: they just say that it’s a matter for the State governments, not the Federal Government, and point to what Romney did. That’s Romney care, and it is a pretty pitiful argument. Federalism is not a hot issue for real people. Mandates are evil or they aren’t, and states doing them are no better. Anyhow, we’re talking Medicare, which got settled almost 50 years ago. I can just imagine how Florida would love being responsible for Medicare. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/152 "2012-08-11T20:52:40Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Anyhow, we’re talking Medicare, which got settled almost 50 years ago. I can just imagine how Florida would love being responsible for Medicare. Rick Scott would love it. He’s an old hand at extracting the greatest possible (though not the greatest legal) profit from Medicare… ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/153 "2012-08-11T20:53:18Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Other than wanting to destroy Medicare, give huge tax cuts to the wealthy, ramp up defense spending, and gutting every other federal program. > > Romney can no longer frame this as a referendum on Obama- it’s now a choice election. Does the public want radical right wingers to have full control of the government? No way in hell. As I said earlier, your contentions can and will be debated in other threads. If Obama can convince voters that Paul Ryan wants to do the things you described, then he wins. If Romney and Ryan can convince voters that his plan will balance the budget while providing seniors with superior health care, give tax relief to job creators, protect us from terrorists, and trimming unnecessary federal programs, then they win. Game on. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/154 "2012-08-11T20:54:04Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > While I agree this doesn’t look like the best choice I have to say there is no way this is as bad a pick as Palin. As much as I disagree with him, Paul Ryan is undoubtedly a well spoken, bright guy. Ryan isn’t a moron, true. He can probably say which papers he reads. But Palin was picked to add excitement to the ticket, and to get women mad at Hilary losing involved. She also didn’t have the obvious baggage Ryan does. McCain also never tacked as right during the primaries as Romney did. In both cases, though, the candidates caved into pressure from the far right. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/155 "2012-08-11T21:01:39Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > The last time a member of the House of Representatives was picked as a running mate was Bill Miller with Barry Goldwater in 1964, right? > > That didn’t work out too well. > [@magellan01](#): > > Wow. Is that right? I think so… I wouldn’t have guessed that, though. Gerldine Ferarro was a member of Congress in 1984. The last sitting member of Congress nominated as vice president on the winning ticket was John Nance Garner in 1932, and he was the sitting Speaker of the House, so he had that going for him. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/156 "2012-08-11T21:09:48Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > That’s not what he said. He was talking about the concept of natural law; that rights don’t come from government but from nature or from God. It’s in the Declaration of Independence. It’s hardly radical. It’s not even religious because many atheists agree with the concept that some rights are simply inherent and that any government that opposes them are evil. I’m not sure how that makes sense, we are supposed to be ruled by the Constitution not the declaration of independence. And many do think that the real natural thing to do and based on simple charity is that all humans should have access to health care. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/157 "2012-08-11T21:10:06Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Gerldine Ferarro was a member of Congress in 1984. > > The last sitting member of Congress nominated as vice president on the winning ticket was John Nance Garner in 1932, and he was the sitting Speaker of the House, so he had that going for him. When was the last time an incumbent president was re-elected with \> 8% unemployment? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/158 "2012-08-11T21:11:29Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > When was the last time an incumbent president was re-elected with \> 8% unemployment? For that matter, when was the last time a Black president was re-elected? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/159 "2012-08-11T21:11:59Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Hasn’t used it much at all, at least relative to the President’s burn rate. > > But I don’t think he’s planning to sit on it forever. Now that he’s got a controversial VP pick, he has to rush to define Ryan positively. Luckily for us, throwing non-rich seniors over the cliff to save money is considered as positive for the far right. Ryan, unlike Palin, is well defined to people paying attention. Kind of like Goldwater. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/160 "2012-08-11T21:18:04Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > As to Florida, I don’t think it’ll hurt that much. Folks currently on Medicare aren’t affected too much. It’s the “near old” that have to worry - raising the eligibility age to 67 is not popular at all. But they have children. One point - my father-in-law, who is 96 and a lifelong Republican, is voting for Obama. He didn’t like Romney - he likes Ryan less. And he lives in Pennsylvania so his vote counts unlike my California one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157.md?page=9)